WEBVTT

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There was a very loud voice from the public asking us to protect more areas in the Gulf of Mexico.

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But in order for us to put boundaries around these areas,

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we really need to do some groundtruthing and get more information about the communities on the seafloor and

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really help us make those management decisions as to whether or not these areas do warrant additional protection.

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The Gulf of Mexico is considered relatively well studied,

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but most people don't realize that the vast majority of the Gulf of Mexico is actually very deep waters.

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The whole West Florida Escarpment and in this area is also one of the least-explored of the Gulf and also the least exploited.

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Oil and gas drilling is not permitted over here.

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That's why this is a poorly understood area.

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When we come back here, I always expect to see all of the species that I'm most familiar with.

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I've really been kind of surprised at how many new things that we're seeing.

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This is just further testament to how bottomless the deep sea is in terms of its many surprises and its many unusual secrets.